Saturday, October 30, 2010

Long Time No See (Why the Hiatus)

Um yeah. Sorry for the hiatus. I was so close to giving up documenting my natural hair journey after my setback in September. You see, I tried Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner, thinking it would be "moisturizing". I'm not that naive to rely on the word of the manufacturer and take it as gospel truth, I always read the ingredients first and I also read a few reviews from other women who also have natural hair that is coarse and porous to get a general feel of what results I could expect. Well, everyone said that they loved it, so I thought, hmmm I'm going to love it too. The conditioner has hydrolyzed wheat protein in it, but I thought, no biggie, so does my Sta Sof Fro and that stuff is lovely on my hair.

That Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner mess dried my hair out so bad that it caused incomplete splits on the last inch or 2 inches of my hair! I was ticked off so bad ya'll I think I cried. Honestly, I think that stuff is a mild to hardcore protein treatment in disguise. When I put it on my hair it felt like a reconstructor. I don't know if you all have ever used one before, but I have used the Motions Reconstructor as a permed head and it has a weird feel to it on your hair. I should have known something was up with that experience alone.

After that, I took the scissors and cut off as much damage as I could. That was in September and that is why I have been MIA for so long. Just embarrassing and disappointing. This incident is so frustrating to me because I believe that I try to do the best that I can to take care of my hair. I don't use heat, I do protective styles almost 30 days a month, and I am gentle as possible to my hair. But all it takes is one bad product to damage my hair. I am not going to lie and say I will never experiment with new products ever again, but I will say that I will try to be a little bit more careful and do small test areas first to see how the product responds before I sacrifice all my hair (not that I didn't do this with the KMC because I did!)

Okay, fast forward to today. My hair is slowly growing back. Wednesday I took down some mini twists and Thursday I spent 3 hours putting in a flat twist/twist style.

I don't know if you can see it too well, but in between the two sections of flat twists, I left the middle "out" and put twists so that they could fall over the flat twists, not realizing I don't have but a grip of hair. I did it because I was lazy to be honest lol.

Wow...that really sucks. I haven't had any issues to that extreme, but I have tried products before that caused my hair to dry out something horrible. The worse was Silk Elements deep condish that was full of protein. It will take some time to nurse your hair back to health, but you have a great understanding of it so I'm sure the hair will be back to a happy place in no time! :)

I really like the styles you wear! How long do you think your hair is? I have been transitioning for 8 months. Some days I feel like I want to do the BC,but I plan to hold out for a year,maybe more,God Willing. Right now I'm wearing twists as a protective style,but when I become fully natural,I would definitely like to wear some of the styles you are wearing! Do you find it difficult to do your own hair? I have always had a hair stylist but I recently moved to a new city,so bye bye stylist! Can you give me any tips to help me on my transitioning journey? Thank you! :)

@ Nappy Headed Black Girl- yes ma'am we sure do! The problem that a lot of us have (well at least I know I do) is that we want more from our hair. We want it softer, more manageable, and longer and we are always on a quest for that one thing that will turn our hair around. We or "I" definitely need to be careful and accept our hair for what it is.

@Amma Mama Thank you so much <3

@LaKeisha Proteins are the debil! Thanks so much for your kind words! :)

@SoulfulSista: Thank you so much hunny.

@Anonymous: Thank you so much :) After my cut in September my hair is right around 2.5-3.5 inches. Not at all where it should be lol. If you have been growing your hair out, your virgin new growth should be right around 4 inches. That is plenty of hair to play around with!

I don't find it really difficult doing my own hair. I actually had more trouble styling my hair with a relaxer than with a perm! I had a stylist also when I wore one because I could not curl or roller set my hair the way that the hairdresser could. I never got the hang of it.

With my natural hair, I may not be the best stylist, but I have learned to work with what I know how to do. I can't cornrow (yet) so instead I do flat twists. And learning how to twist or braid your own hair in a way that is okay for you may not happen right away. The best advice I can give is to have patience. Learning the techniques and products that work for you may take months if not years. That is okay. Just keep at it and don't give up! Like you said, you have always relied on someone else to do your hair for you. Learning how to do your own hair is going to take time but trust me, if I can do it, you can do it too :)

When I transitioned, I started to prepare myself mentally first. I read various hair books, such as Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America and I looked at hair albums to get an understanding of what my hair may look like and how to work with my hair as a natural. You are definitely on the right track. The biggest game changer for me though was joining Nappturality.com. That community helped to solidify my decision to go natural and helped me to big chop because without their support I doubt I would have done it. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask and take care, hope I helped :)

@Anonymous: Congrats on your decision to go natural! You will absolutely love your hair journey! The most liberating experience that I have had thus far on my natural hair journey has been removing the shackles that the hair salon had placed on me. I didn't need her anymore to do my hair, I could do it myself! Do I find it difficult to do my own hair? No, as long as I work with my hair and not against it: I don't comb my hair while it is dry, I don't try to have uniformed curls when my hair will never do that and I don't try to fight against shrinkage. I just let my hair be itself. As far as styling my hair goes, it hasn't been difficult either. It does take time to find a routine that works for you, but once you discover it everything will begin to fall into place after that.

The biggest advice I can give you is to have patience. I too was a slave to my hairdresser. It takes time to learn how to do your own hair. It can be frustrating at first, but don't give up! Keep practicing and telling yourself you will figure it out.

After my setback and compulsive cutting, I have 2.5-3.5 inches of hair. If you have been growing your hair out for 8 months you should have right around 4 inches of natural hair. That is plenty of hair to have fun with! Good luck to you on your transitioning journey. If you have anymore questions let me know and take care :)

I'm sorry about your setback, but you've recovered wonderfully! I stalk your blog regularly! I loved Kenra MC when I was relaxed, but natural I don't like it. I used it right after my BC and I just assumed my hair was just super dry that's why it didn't do anything.

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Hello! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I'm getting sick and tired of Wordpress because I've had problems with hackers and I'm looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

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